


Go home

by annebenedicte



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, UNIT: the New Series (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 15:45:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16977441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annebenedicte/pseuds/annebenedicte
Summary: Takes place after "Breach of Trust" in UNIT revisitationsIf you haven't listened to it ... Kate Stewart had to issue a delicate order, and Osgood disagreed...what happens next





	1. Chapter 1

« Go home, Osgood. We’ll talk about this later.”

Kate willed her teeth to keep from chattering – the icy wind at the top of the tower was reminding her she hadn’t even stopped to take her coat before bolting to her favourite spot. What a terrible night! Varra… Nuraï… No, she wouldn’t forget them. Of course Osgood had saved the child’s life but …Now she was an orphan. All alone on Earth, except from Unit. Another responsibility – another person to care for. She closed her eyes and sighed – sending people to their death was one aspect of the job she would never be able to accept. Bad enough when soldiers were killed under her command, but… Unit had lost too many people recently, during the fight against the Wrren. And many of those losses were her fault – she should have listened to Colonel Shindi. Maybe Osgood and Josh had been right to disobey her orders after all… Maybe …Oh, God – she was so tired… She couldn’t think anymore. But catching a cold wouldn’t solve anything. She went back to her office where she sat on the sofa and tried to relax her stiffening muscles. When someone knocked on the door, she groaned – she just wanted to be alone for a few hours – to think.  However, she dutifully called “Come in”, trying to keep from barking the words and moved to her desk chair.

“Colonel – I hope you don’t have anymore bad news for me- I’ve had more than enough for today.”

Colonel Shindi came into the room and proffered the thermos flask he’d been holding: “No, Kate – everything’s quiet now – I’ve arranged for Nuraï to be transferred to one of our northern bases – some of our staff have their kids with them there.”

“Thank you, Colonel – I can always count on you. And thank you for the coffee – much appreciated.”

Seeing that the Colonel was lingering, Kate frowned: “Anything else?”

Colonel Shindi cleared his throat: “I know you probably don’t want to think about it now, but …Captain Carter …and Osgood.”

Kate put the mug back on her desk, the taste of coffee suddenly nauseating her: “You’re right, Colonel, I really don’t want to talk about them now.”

“Sorry, Ma’am, but …I should really be charging Carter for assisting an enemy, and …you know what the consequences would be…”

Kate buried her face in her hands. She knew only too well – life imprisonment. She tried to imagine what her father would do but her mind remained blank. She pictured him at her desk…He would have raved and ranted, of course, but would he have said that discipline had to prevail at all costs? She heard herself telling Osgood that usually, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, but would condemning Josh Carter really help the greater good? Acutely aware of the Colonel’s presence on the other side of the desk, she forced herself to straighten her back and to look at him.

“Make it “failing to perform his duty”, Colonel.”

“Yes, Ma’am – but that’s still …”

“Two years – I know – but we’re not exactly the regular army, are we? Call him on the carpet, make him understand the errors of his way, and …maybe a week in a cell would help him understand. But we need him on the team, Colonel – you know that.”

“Yes, Ma’am – understood. And …”

Kate sighed: “Yes, Colonel, I’ll deal with Osgood myself.”

When the colonel left the room, Kate buried her head in her hands again. Osgood’s betrayal had hurt her deeply. She didn’t especially think she had an inflated ego, but she quite liked Osgood looking up to her…and the idea that the younger woman could disagree with her and blatantly flaunt her orders was hard to swallow. It also gave her the uncomfortable feeling that she may have taken the wrong decision. She usually counted on her team to validate her choices – if Osgood betrayed her …But more than anything, she felt the bond of trust between them had been broken, and she didn’t know how to repair it. Actually …she didn’t know if she wanted to repair it. Since her father’s death, she could count the people on which she could rely on the fingers of one hand. Losing even one of them would be hard, but… She grabbed her phone and sent a text: “Please see me when you come in. Kate Stewart.”

Osgood knocked on Kate’s door and breathed quickly in her inhaler. She had a bad feeling about this. She had slept fitfully for a few hours interspersed with nightmares. Some of them about a space capsule exploding into the darkness, some of them involving her in Kate’s office…When she saw Kate’s face, she knew she was in trouble.

“Sit down, Petronella”

Kate never called her Petronella… She sat down and gripped her inhaler tighter.

Kate sought the younger woman’s eyes and steeled herself against the anxiety she could read in them. Was she doing the right thing? Or was this another mistake?

“Petronella – I’m letting you go. I’m sorry, but – I can’t see any other way.”

The brunette blinked at her uncomprehendingly: “Ma’am?”

“You will leave your badge and other gadgets you may have on you here.”

Kate’s eyes and voice were so full of ice that Osgood shivered. Kate paused for a moment and then resumed. “You’ll find a job waiting for you at King Henry’s University, in the Advanced Physics department. If you’ll just wait a minute…”  She aimed a small laser-pointer-like tool at Osgood. “There. Thank you for coming in, Petronella. Goodbye.”

As the stunned scientist got up and walked towards the door, she thought she heard “Good luck with your life.” As the door closed behind Osgood, Kate reclined in her chair, all the muscles she had clenched screaming for mercy. The memory wipe would at least erase Osgood’s memories about her time at Unit – but there would be no oblivion for her.


	2. Chapter 2

When she had sent the email to King Henry’s about Osgood, Kate had asked them to send her a choice of candidates to replace her. The forthcoming interviews seemed an appropriate punishment for not having forgiven Osgood – if there was something Kate hated, it was those one-to-one talks. Especially when none of the candidates proved satisfactory – or not as satisfactory as Osgood had been. Working her way through a list of young scientists took time she hadn’t got and patience she sorely lacked these days. A week later, in desperation, she phoned Professor Stern, her contact at the university and he promised he would try to find someone else.

Kate re-read the email she had just received, trying to read between the lines:

“Dear Ms. Stewart,

Professor Stern told me you were looking for a Scientific adviser. I believe I may be suited for the job. I’m a lecturer at King Henry, specialising in Perceptual Studies, but I’m ready for a new challenge.

I would love to hear from you,

Best regards

 Dr. Heather Gallagher.”

She might as well interview her – aliens had been quiet recently, but in her experience, this wouldn’t last long.

“So – Dr. Gallagher – can you tell me a little more about what you do?”

The woman relaxed in her chair and explained that her department specialised in the scientific empirical investigation of phenomena that suggest that currently accepted scientific assumptions and theories about the nature of mind or consciousness, and its relation to matter, may be incomplete. She couldn’t be more different from Osgood – tall and thin, with short black hair in an Eton crop, she projected self-assurance and professionalism. Dressed very similarly to Kate – a  black shirt and black slacks – she had a gamine look, but Kate judged her to be near her own age. Could she work with Heather? Probably. As far as her credentials went, she was by far the best candidate, used to paranormal phenomena and yet enviably down-to-earth and level-headed.  Her iq and psychological tests told of superior intelligence and reliability.

“Welcome to the United Intelligence Task Force, Dr. Gallagher.”

“Thank you – and please call me Heather.”

During the next few days, the two women learnt to work together – Kate asked Heather to familiarize herself with Unit Black Archive’s content and history. Each time she went in Osgood’s old lair and found Heather in her place, she couldn’t help sighing, but she had to admit Heather seemed efficient. When the brunette appeared in her office one evening, Kate smiled at her: “Problem, Heather?”

“No problem, Ma’am. I just …”

For the first time since they’d had their first meeting, Heather appeared unsure of herself.

“Yes?”

“I-just-wondered-if-you-wanted-to-go-for-a-drink.”

Kate hadn’t been expecting that – she wasn’t used to socialising with her subordinates – actually, she wasn’t used to being asked to participate in anything non-work-related by one of her staff.

“Err – no, I’m sorry, but …” She gestured to the papers on her desk. “Just swamped in paperwork.”

Seeing Heather’s crestfallen expression, Kate relented: “Not tonight – maybe another time, though. Ask me again?”

Heather’s bright smile returned and she left the office with a pert “Will do, Boss, goodnight” and a wink.

Left to herself, Kate wondered why she had encouraged her. Was she really that bored? She thought back to her last evening out – well, a drink with Heather couldn’t be worse than that dinner with Richard Homes. After all, the brunette was the newcomer into an established team, older than most of its members – it couldn’t be easy for her. Jolting her out of her musings, her pager’s alarm sounded. As she read the message on the screen, she sighed – the lull was over.

“Snow angels attacking people? Snowballs hitting back? Does that ring a bell? Colonel?”

In the ops room, Kate and the rest of the team were watching several grainy footages of London parks, trying to make sense of what they were saying. With the thick blanket of snow which had fallen on the city during the last few days, many people had used the opportunity to revert to their childhood selves. However, the videos showed a different reality. Eyes riveted on the screen, Kate watched as a young woman let herself drop to the ground and waved her arms to make “wings” – so far so good, but as she got up, a snow shape suddenly appeared in the hollow figure, rose and engulfed the woman. In other videos, snowballs thrown at a tree multiplied,  rebounded and flew straight back at a young man who fell subsequently to the ground, dead.

Colonel Shindi frowned: “Well – the Snowmen, of course, but …they had quite another modus operandi, if I remember correctly.”

Heather chimed in: “yes – Dr Simeon’s creation. But I thought the Doctor had put an end to them.”

Kate looked at the brunette: “Yes – me too. This may be entirely unrelated. Or not. We need to investigate.”

“Do we have any samples of that snow? I’d like to run it through a resonance spectrum analysis protocol.”

“Captain Carter? Can I leave that with you?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Good – if anyone wants me, I’ll be in my office.”

Since the episode with the Calvary, Josh Carter had lost a little of his gung-ho attitude. Kate suspected he had carried a torch for Osgood for some time, and he resented her for having fired the scientist. Or maybe it was the week in one of Unit’s cells, preceded by a dressing-down from the colonel and followed by a tongue-lashing from herself. Anyway, he seemed subdued, and Kate missed his more buoyant personality.


	3. Chapter 3

Two days later, Unit had several more victims on their hands, killed by snow figures, snow balls, drowned attracted by frozen ponds or snow drifts. Heather had tried diligently to analyse the snow’s magnetic resonance, gravity field, wave frequency, but they were still stuck. As she made her evening report in Kate’s office, she bit her lips: “I’m sorry, Ma’am – I …I thought I could do this job, but…”

“It’s not your fault, Heather. You’re doing your best.”

Kate looked at the brunette’s eyes underlined by deep shadows and knew her own face reflected her weariness. She hadn’t left the Tower for four days, and the few hours of agitated sleep she had caught on the sofa hadn’t brought her much rest.

“Ma’am?”

“Uh – sorry?”

“I just asked if you wanted to come and get that drink? I think we both need it?”

Kate considered the proposal – it was unlikely they would achieve anything tonight. Actually, it was unlikely they would achieve anything at all alone. She had sent a space-time-gram to the Doctor, but she had had no reply, as usual. Who knew where or when he was … “All right – let’s do it.”

She grabbed her coat and Heather seized it and helped her put it on. The gallant gesture surprised Kate but she said nothing, not wanting to make the brunette uncomfortable. They found a small table in one of the local pub and Kate went to order the drinks. She came back with two winter beers. “Let’s drink to your arrival in the UNIT team, then.”

“Thank you …Kate.”

Kate remembered it had taken Osgood almost two years to call her by her first name. She didn’t exactly mind, especially as they were technically off duty – or at least Heather was. Kate was never off-duty. Small talk didn’t come easily to her, but she was good at getting information without giving out too much about herself. Soon she learnt that Heather’s parents had been teachers – both deceased, she was a only child like herself, currently single. When they left the pub, Heather took Kate’s arm and snuggled closer. Taken aback, Kate almost shrugged her off – she didn’t usually like people invading her personal space- but there was something strangely comforting in the woman’s touch. She felt herself stiffen and then relax.

“Why don’t you go home, Heather? Get some rest? I’m going back to the Tower.”

“ You ought to rest, too. But I think I will – go home, I mean– goodnight, Kate, see you tomorrow.”

As she released Kate’s arm, she dropped a light kiss on her cheek before walking away. Kate watched her go, stunned. She didn’t go for kissing her colleagues. She ought to have said something…

 

Kate fell asleep in the early morning hours on the sofa in her office. Perusing old archives had proved soporific in the extreme – not enough, though, that her barely awake brain didn’t jump immediately to the previous evening. Was she imagining things, or had Heather given out definite flirtatious vibes? She must be imagining things – Kate didn’t like the period leading to the end-of-year festivities. It reminded her that her parents were dead, her sons busy with their own lives and she had no significant other in hers. The idea of spending another lonely Christmas suddenly didn’t seem appealing. Of course, maybe the snow would put an end to the festivities anyway if she and Unit didn’t solve the problem and the Doctor didn’t make an appearance. She decided to go home for a hot shower and a change of clothes, and hopefully a change of perspective.

When she came back two hours afterwards, she found Colonel Shindi waiting, or rather pacing, outside her office.

“Sorry, Colonel – anything I can help you with?”

“Hmm – maybe. Can I come in, Ma’am?”

“Of course – take a seat, Colonel – I’m listening.”

“Thank you Ma’am. It’s just … I was thinking … We need more help. This isn’t a matter of shooting down aliens. We need a more scientific approach here.”

“Thank you, Colonel – I know that. Is that all?”

“Not quite, Ma’am. Any news of the Doctor?”

“Of course not! Otherwise I’d kept you informed, wouldn’t I?”

“Yes – I apologise.”

“Apology accepted, Colonel – I think our nerves are all a little frayed.”

“I think you need to call Osgood back, Kate.”

“I’m sorry?” Kate’s tone and glare could have frozen an ocean, but the Colonel remained unfazed: “I think we need Osgood – Heather is a bright girl – err, sorry, woman – but …”

“I’m sure Heather will do her job perfectly well, thank you, Colonel. We do not need Petronella Osgood.”

“If you say so, Ma’am.”

Left alone, Kate put her head in her hands and groaned – she had faith in Heather, of course, but… Osgood had been truly brilliant. Brilliant – and a traitor, though. The second interruption of the day came in the shape of the tall brunette bearing a white paper bag and a disposable coffee cup.

“I brought you something to eat – I’m sure you haven’t thought about food for ages.”

“Well, as a matter of fact …” Kate tried to think of the last meal she had eaten and except for a sandwich two days before and a few custard creams the day before, she didn’t find anything in her memory. She hadn’t had anything to eat in her flat – no time to go shopping. She had to admit that it was nice to have someone take care of her for a change.

“Thank you, Heather – but it’s not your job to feed me, you know.”

“I know – but I got something for myself, and I thought…”

“It’s very kind of you. Do you want to stay and eat with me?”

“I’d love to, Kate – thanks.”

“I promise not to talk shop for at least ten minutes.”

Heather laughed: “Ditto – what shall we talk about then? Have you seen any good movies lately?”

Kate laughed too, but her laugh resonated a little bitterly: “If I tell you I haven’t been to the movies for …three years…”

“Ouch!”

“Yes…”

“Books, maybe?”

“Yes, a few.”

They managed an animated discussion about favourite authors and topics for about half an hour before Kate decided they’d better get back to work. She sent another message to the Doctor, but to no avail. A detour via the ops room didn’t do much to cheer her up. Several other victims had been discovered, in various parts of the country. This new threat might not be as deadly as some of the ones they had faced previously – no destruction of the whole planet in the offing but it had to be stopped. On her way back to her office, she stopped in Osgood’s – no, Heather’s lab – and found the brunette perusing several books at the same time.

“Any progress, Heather?”

Heather smiled ruefully: “No, Ma’am – I’m sorry. The thing is… there are so many artefacts here, I really think one of them could work. I mean – I found out that the water molecules in the “alien snow” had an almost radioactive image on the spectroscope, but…”

“Almost radioactive?”

“Well, yes, I mean a different image than a normal H20 molecule…”

Kate’s tone became crisper: “I’m not asking you for the dumbed-down version, Heather – I’m a scientist, when I ask for explanations, I want facts.”

The brunette blushed: “Sorry, Ma’am – I meant that the oxygen form is an isotope, but not one of the known ones – it’s ²°O.”

“Oh – okay, I get what you mean.”

“So if we had a frequency blaster able to target those isotopes and if we could amplify its signal so that it could reach the whole of the UK…”

“We could get rid of that alien snow – good thinking, Heather!”  

Kate began to smile for the first time in days: “Can you get on with it, then?”

Heather bit her lips: “I’ll – I’ll try Ma’am.”

“Good! Come and get me when you’ve got something.”


	4. Chapter 4

When Heather knocked on her office door a few hours later, Kate was lying on the floor, trying to get rid of a kink in her back. Since she had been thrown from the plane, her back had been troubling her. She shot up and stifled a groan.

“Bad back?”

“Yes…Occupational hazards…and age, I’m afraid.”

“Oh come on, Kate – surely we must be about the same age? I’m 46.”

Kate neglected to answer and Heather went on: “Would you like me to give you a back rub? I took a massage course once – in my new age phase…”

“No!” Kate’s reply was almost panicked: “No – thank you. I’m fine.”

Heather opened her hands in a giving-up gesture: “All right, all right.”

“I hope you have good news for me?”

Heather’s face fell: “Well …Not exactly. May I sit down?”

Kate nodded and the brunette sank in a chair. Kate perched on the side of her desk, as she usually did. Heather gulped and began uneasily: “I’m afraid – I’m afraid I’m not suited for this job after all, Ma’am.”

Kate knitted her brows: “Care to elaborate, Heather?”

“Well – it’s like this. I’m a research scientist – a book scientist. I can elaborate theories, I can understand things …but I can’t build a weapon, or a sonic blaster or …or anything, really. I’m not an engineer. So I’m no use to you or Unit, am I?”

Kate sighed – all her hopes dashed in a few seconds. They needed something concrete, something tangible – not only theories, of course.

“If I may?”

“Yes?”

“I – I talked with the rest of the team. Colonel Shindi, a little, and mostly with Captain Carter. He told me about the woman I’ve replaced. I don’t want to meddle or anything, but – that Osgood sounded perfect for the job.”

“That is not an option, Dr. Gallagher – nor your call to make.” The frown was back on Kate’s face, accompanied by the icy tone of voice.

“No – of course – I know – sorry. But …Well, I’m afraid …”

“Isn’t there anything you can do? Anything at all?” Kate’s voice had become almost pleading. She hated to beg, but she had put her faith in Heather, and she just couldn’t bear to be disappointed again. Moreover, she really liked the brunette. She couldn’t quite say why, but she found her …well, there was something in her.

“I’m sorry, Kate – I wish I could…I hope you’ll manage to… There’s only one thing I can do, actually.”

Kate rose hopeful eyes towards her: “Yes?”

Heather rose and put her arm around Kate’s shoulder – then she bent and her lips found Kate’s, tentatively at first, and then more forcefully as the felt the other woman’s response. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, however, before Kate broke the contact and took several steps back. She looked at Heather, aghast.

“Heather – Dr. Gallagher! This is …This is …No!”

“I’m sorry…I thought …I’m sorry!”

As Heather fled out of the office, Kate watched her with incredulous eyes. She hadn’t seen that coming at all. And she wondered at her body’s reaction – she had never kissed a woman before, and yet her lips had responded quite eagerly to Heather’s. And a delicious tingle had coursed through her body. But this was work! Heather was her subordinate! For goodness’ sake – she had chastised Richard for having his way with a Private, and there she was kissing a member of her staff in her office! She really had to get some sleep – exhaustion did strange things to her. Leaving the base under Colonel Shindi’s command, she went home for a few hours.

When she came back to the Tower the next morning, her thoughts hadn’t cleared up as much as she had hoped – maybe because instead of sleeping, she had spent most of the night wondering what to do, and what her father would have done. The idea that she might have to eat humble pie and get Osgood back felt quite unpalatable, and yet …All the harder since it would mean she had acted in haste and made a mistake. She thought about everything she’d gone through with Osgood at her side. They had saved each other’s lives umpteen times – and she had discarded the young woman like she would have a near stranger. But when someone didn’t obey orders, people got hurt. Every time she had disobeyed, she had paid the price. She could still remember each of these painful instances. The first time had been so long ago that she didn’t even understand why she remembered it. When she had been about two or three years old, she had often refused to go to bed before her father came home. She would throw tantrums, or just sit obstinately on the stairs until she heard the front door and her father’s voice – nothing would get her to bed before that. Scoldings, spankings…nothing. Until one day, her mother had sat her down in the living room, and told her her father wouldn’t be living with them anymore. It had taken her years to understand her parents’ divorce had not been her fault, her punishment for not going to bed. The second time, she had been older – about eleven years old. Her father had taken her for a holiday in Cromer. They had rented a house with other Unit families, or maybe it had been a Unit property. Anyway, the kitchen had been huge, with a three-ring gas cooker which all the kids in residence had been strictly forbidden to touch. She must have been the oldest, because the others had all begged her to make fudge for them. The parents usually played cards outside or went for walks in the afternoons, leaving the children to entertain themselves. She had often made fudge at home with her mother on the Aga – there was nothing to it, really – she just needed to figure out how to light the gas. She had figured they would just get away with it – it wouldn’t take very long, and she so much wanted the other children to like her… Everything went well at first – until, unused to a naked flame, she didn’t pay any attention to the towel she was using to hold the hot pan handle, and it caught fire. Startled, she dropped it, unfortunately near the kitchen curtains. Then everything became a blur – some of the parents came rushing into the kitchen and managed to extinguish the fire. The Brig took his belt to her – the only time she could remember him hitting her – and it was the last holiday she spent with him. She had thought at the time it was due to her having been naughty, whereas it was probably only his work keeping him away. And the last time had been during her first years in UNIT – even though she had been employed as scientific officer, she had had to undergo basic army training like all UNIT personnel. As Lieutenant, she had once refused to obey an order to retreat and leave behind a wounded soldier during an attack against the Agnesors. In command of a squad of fifteen, she had urged them forward instead of backwards. It went against her nature to leave one of her men behind – she had been an idealistic then – just like Osgood, she thought wryly. She had wilfully ignored her CO’s shouts and although she had eventually managed to get her man to safety, two other soldiers had been wounded in her initiative, one of them losing an arm and the other one incurring a serious chest wound. The Corporal she had rescued had suffered a head trauma and as far as she knew still lived in a military clinic in a vegetative state. When she had led her squad back to base camp, she had been met by the Major whose order she’d disregarded: “You can’t even believe what trouble you’re into, Stewart! If we get out of this alive, I’m bloody going to kill you!”

  
He didn’t quite kill her, but the repercussions were severe enough. She hadn’t been back at the base for two hours when she was summoned by her Commanding Officer. She found him with the Major. Both of them looked at her with icy eyes:  
“What happened today, Captain ?”  
“Well, sir, I just did my job. You surely didn’t want me to let Jones bleed to death ?”  
“You disobeyed a direct order from your superior. You risked your own life unnecessarily, and the life of your other men.”

Kate hung her head – she had no valid answer to that.

  
“Look, Stewart, I know you were a bloody civilian not long ago, but I thought you’d been trained, and that you had at least enough brain cells to understand direct orders. Answer me, Lieutenant!”

“Yes, Sir.”  
“You’re no bloody use to us if you’re dead! Can you at least keep that in that stubborn head of yours?”  
“Yes, sir.”

After the adrenaline rush of the attack and rescue, Kate was feeling thoroughly deflated. She knew she should have obeyed, but if the orders went against what she thought was right …   
“Do you know you could be court-martialled for this, Stewart? And thrown out?”  
“Yes, sir.”

If she could have crossed her fingers, she would have done so, but as she was standing to attention, it was not a possibility. She tried her toes, but her boots were not quite large enough.  
“I’m prepared to be lenient, Stewart – you’re going to avoid the court-martial this time. That’s only because you managed to save him and you came with an excellent record.”

Kate heaved a discreet sigh of relief: “Thank you, sir.”

“ Four days solitary confinement, two weeks latrine duty and general chores. Dismissed.”  
She saluted, and left the room. She wasn’t quite sure what had happened there, but she knew she’d had a near escape. Not that she had enjoyed latrine duty …But the worst was that two people under her command had been hurt, and the one she had wanted to rescue had lived only a sliver of a life.

And yet …It was all too obvious that UNIT wouldn’t be able to neutralize the alien snow without Osgood’s gizmos. Heather had done the research, but they needed more. Heather …what was she going to do with Heather? They had met in the corridor, and the brunette had given her an embarrassed smile before beating a hasty retreat towards the lab. This would however have to wait. Other more pressing matters awaited. Something pinged on her computer and she eagerly read the message from the Doctor: “You don’t need me this time, Kate – you have a human solution. Call Osgood.”

Kate groaned – if everyone conspired against her… She called up Osgood’s file on her computer and bit her lips – the young woman’s address was still listed as the flat which had been destroyed by the Tangabushi, and which Kate knew Osgood hadn’t returned to. She pressed the intercom button: “Josh – are you busy? Can you come to my office, please?”


	5. Chapter 5

A quarter of an hour later, Josh was driving her to Osgood’s flat, while she tried frantically to find a way to make Osgood come back – with all her memories, which she had very efficiently wiped out a few weeks previously. Finally, Kate remembered something the Doctor had said:  “There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.” Maybe that was the key – not literally hand-holding, but feelings – if she managed to make Osgood remember the feelings she had had about her job at Unit – and maybe about her…

As she rang the bell of the two-floor house Josh had driven her to – apparently Osgood had adamantly refused to live on a non-ground floor apartment after her brush with the Tangabushi, Kate took a deep breath and checked her watch – 7.45 am – with luck Osgood hadn’t yet left for King Henry University. Indeed, the Osgood who opened the door still had her hair down her back instead of in her usual ponytail and was holding a cup of coffee.

“Oh – Good morning, Ma’am – I …I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Sorry to disturb you, Osgood. May I come in?”

Kate followed Osgood to the front room, sparsely furnished but with several computers and bits and pieces scattered everywhere. She pushed a few on the floor to make room on the sofa and sat down. At least Osgood knew who she was – but Kate had no idea how much she remembered.

“I’m glad to see you, Osgood.” And it was true, Kate realised – she felt thoroughly ashamed of herself for having dismissed the young scientist.

“Oh …Well – I guess I am, too.”

Kate winced – Osgood’s tone hadn’t really been very enthusiastic. She bit her lips.

“Osgood – I’m sorry – for everything. I – I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”

“Oh?”

Kate realised she would have to make herself clearer if she wanted a chance of giving Osgood her memory back.  So she began to describe several of the battles they had fought together, but seeing that the younger woman’s face showed no more than a polite interest, she decided she had to worked a little harder at it. Kate wasn’t really comfortable with expressing her feelings – keeping a stiff upper lip and doing the job needing doing was more like her, but she was willing to try.

“Osgood – what I mean is …I relied on you – I trusted you – I trust you. You’re a brilliant young woman, and UNIT needs you – I need you – we are friends, and I don’t have so many friends I can afford to lose the ones I’ve got. I regret what happened – I was stupid – I acted like a capricious child and I …was wrong and I apologise.”

Kate wasn’t used to grovelling, but…She went on: “Will you forgive me and come back? Please?”

Osgood looked at her in silence for a moment. Suddenly, Kate, who had won staring contests with Daleks and Zygons, found herself looking down at her lap, unsettled by the brown eyes watching her behind the black-rimmed glasses. “I’m sorry”, she murmured, “I shouldn’t have come – I … may have ruined your life once, I’m not going to do it again. I’ll leave you in peace.”

When she raised her eyes again, Osgood was grinning: “Apology accepted, Ma’am! Just let me brush my teeth, and I’ll be right with you. And for the record…I’ve missed UNIT, too – who wouldn’t like the chance to put her life in danger every day to save the world … And … I missed you to.”

Kate stood up and reached out for an awkward hug. Then, she went to the door: “You’ve got five minutes, Osgood, otherwise Josh and I are leaving without you.”

It turned out that the memory wipe hadn’t caused too much damage to Osgood’s exceptional brain – as soon as she got back to her lab, she managed to get her bearings back, probably thanks to a strong eidetic kind of memory process. Thanks to Heather’s research, Osgood only needed a few hours to create the necessary frequency wave identifier and blaster, and to make it powerful enough to reach the whole of the British Isles, putting an end to the lethal snow threat.

In the ops room, Kate thanked the team for its good work and sent most of the staff home for a well-deserved rest. She, however, still had one problem to solve. A tall, brunette-shaped problem who had stayed behind in the room when the others had left.

“Heather? Do you want to talk to me about something? You don’t have to worry about your position – I’m sure you and Osgood can complement each other.”

Kate hesitated and went on: “About the other thing…I shouldn’t have let it happen. It was totally unprofessional of me.”

“You didn’t do anything, Kate – I kissed you.”

“Yes, but…”

Kate bit her lips – she didn’t want to admit that she had enjoyed that kiss more than any other in her life…

“But nothing – I understand, Kate.”

“You do? …Well, of course, you do, I mean ..You’re clever and…”

Just stop digging yourself deeper, Kate admonished herself – you don’t need to tell her that – nor that you find her very attractive.

“Thank you, Ma’am. So …Am I right in thinking that if I weren’t one of your staff, you would accept a date with me?”

Kate blushed bright red and faltered: “Err…I don’t know – maybe, but you are, and…”

“Good – well, in that case, I quit. I was quite happy with my old job, and I know I can get it back. When can we go for that date? Tonight?”

Kate let out a little laugh and nodded: “Why not? Let’s hope we won’t need to save the world again quite so soon…”


End file.
